Got 42-39-29-22-16; Mega Ball number 20?

[Valerie S. Johnson]

By Valerie S. Johnson

If you entered the Mega Millions jackpot on March 6, 2007, you and at least one other person may have won its largest payout ever: a whopping estimated $370 million if taken as an annuity. Claim it as a lump sum, and you split a paltry $221.1 million. Before taxes, of course.

What are your chances of winning? About one in 176 million. Even with these odds, the size of the prize created a ticket-buying frenzy across the country. It was reported that over one million tickets per hour were sold in New York state.

Twelve states (California, Georgia, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Texas, Virginia, and Washington state) participate in the Mega Millions jackpot. Last night's winning tickets were bought somewhere in Georgia and New Jersey.

Whether you bought a lottery ticket or not, it’s always fun to take a moment and think what you would do with that kind of dough. You wouldn’t quit your job, right? Riiiiiiiiiiiiiight.

[jIM_Ohio]

Wife bought 4 tickets and we only got two numbers. Not a very good ROI, LOL.

[MairGrif]

Well, we didn't win. Only hit two numbers total. Oh well.

If I won, I have a lot of things I'd do.
-Pay off all of both our sets of parent's debt, including mortgages. That would probably total about $500,000.
-Pay off our debt - about $30,000 inc student loans
-Invest half of the money - $50,000,000. We could easily live off the income and still give generously.
-Fund college for all our cousins - probably about $1,000,000 (we have a lot of cousins).
-Help some friends who are in need through no fault of their own - $1,000,000.
-Donate to our alma maters and the volunteer organizations we are involved in - $1,000,000.
-Buy a large plot of land and build a home for us, and possibly more homes for some of our friends. ~$3,000,000. I want a nice home, but not huge
-Pay for our wedding/honeymoon, etc, plus a friends ~$60,000
-Buy a new vehicle, only b/c mine is almost 8yo, and 2door and I want something more comfortable. $26,000
OK, that's a LOT of things to do, and I'm only at less than $57,000,000!!!

[Valerie S. Johnson]

UPDATE: There were just two winning tickets sold, one in Dalton, Georgia, and one in Cape May County, New Jersey. The jackpot was $390 million and according to the Mega Millions website now holds the record as the largest jackpot ever in North America.

More from the Mega Millions website:

"The high level of excitement and play in and around Mega Millions states created more than 5.3 million winning tickets in Tuesday’s drawing. That includes 43 tickets that each won $250,000 for matching the first five numbers and only missing the Mega Ball number*.

Here is a breakdown of all the winning tickets in Tuesday’s drawing:

2 tickets matched all 6 numbers for the JACKPOT!
43 tickets matched 5 numbers for $250,000
319 tickets matched 4 numbers + the Mega Ball for $10,000
14,111 tickets matched 4 numbers for $150
15,589 tickets matched 3 numbers + the Mega Ball for $150
251,648 tickets matched 2 numbers + the Mega Ball for $10
692,511 tickets matched 3 numbers for $7
1,504,648 tickets matched 1 number + the Mega Ball for $3
2,852,862 tickets matched the Mega Ball for $2"